Audi A4 3.2 Quattro

The good: Excellent handling because of Quattro, Audi Drive Select, and a new rear differential marks the 2009 Audi A4 3.2. The Bang audio system produces excellent sound, and the Audi Music Interface works well with . The blind-spot warning system is a very useful driver aid.

The bad: Optioned up, the A4 is very pricey. The car's navigation system is behind the curve, lacking external data sources or other useful information.

The bottom line: The 2009 Audi A4 features impressive handling and a luxury interior comes at a luxury price.

Audi became an early car technology adopter, with interesting tricks like SD-card slots and adaptive headlights. With the 2009 Audi A4, the company kept the latter but dropped the former in favor of the much smarter Audi Music Interface, which handles Audi's Multimedia present on the updated A4, but now uses the much better console-mounted controls, rather than the cheap-feeling plastic knob on the instrument panel.

Rather than drastically revamp its small sedan, Audi chose strategic updates for the 2009 A4. The front-end gets the blade-styling and LED parking lights introduced in the Audi R8. Quattro all-wheel-drive came standard on our 3.2-liter V-6 model, and is also now standard on the 2-liter turbo-charged version. We also had the Audi Drive Select option, which gives the car a dual personality as a sport driver and commute car. Adding a little icing on the cake, we got a very nice Bang Olufsen audio system as an option in our test car.